DPS Officials See Some Hope in State School Funding Mess (MI)
May 26, 2010
Schools have received a glimmer of hope that this year’s state budget won’t further cut education funding, but educators and parents need to continue to fight for the money, Dearborn Public School administrators said Monday.
The latest state budget conference made it look like schools might not get the additional $268 per pupil cut Lansing had predicted, said Business Services Director Bob Cipriano. While it appears funding could be available for schools, many other groups are lobbying for a share of the revenue, and districts will not know what to expect until the state’s school aid budget is approved, he said.
“We are going to need to remain diligent in contacting our legislators,” Superintendent Brian Whiston said.
Level funding next year would still not make up for the $10 million in cuts Dearborn had to make this year after state support was slashed mid-year.
Also during Monday’s sc hool board meeting, trustees approved layoffs for 51 teachers. The layoffs related to staff returning from leaves, shifting around surplused staff, transfers, and some teachers who still need special certifications for what they are teaching, Whiston said.
All the staff will likely be called back, “but we have to go through the process,” he said.
Several members from the Dearborn Federation of School Employees are being called back a few months early to do summer cleaning work, administrators said.
The move gets them back to work before fall and relieves the district of the unemployment costs, officials said.
School officials in June have to approve a budget for next fiscal year, which starts July 1.
“There’s still uncertainty, but it’s a little less. It’s a little more clear,” Cipriano said, adding later, “We will not have perfect certainty when we pass that budget in June.” The district is still working on new contracts for two unions, including teachers, and does not know how a new state retirement package will impact the budget.
Eligible school employees have until June 11 to decide whether to take a retirement incentive the state is offering this summer. After July 1, school employees must contribute 3 percent of their pay to help cover retiree health insurance costs.
Ultimately, that could reduce what the district pays in retirement costs, Cipriano said. For now, that rate is expected to increase from not quite 17 percent to 19.41 percent of payroll.
“I think the retirement rate will get a review, but we may not know that until October or November,” he said.
The rate c ould drop, unless a lot of school workers take the retirement incentive, Cipriano said. All new school employees who start after July 1 will also be put into a hybrid plan that is part pension and part-defined contribution, such as 401k. Details of that system are still being worked out and also will affect the district’s contribution rate, he said.
Still, before its budget is approved, Dearborn will know which of its about 500 eligible employees will retire this year. Replacing those higher paid veteran staff with younger recruits will be figured into the budget, Cipriano said.
Dearborn’s budget assumes the district will continue to have 18,497 students, even though enrollment has been climbing in recent years.
“I’m not trying to balance the budget off increasing enrollment,” Cipriano said.
Dearborn’s per pupil state funding has fallen from $9.082.72 last year to $8,637 this year and would dip to $8,369 next fiscal year if the predicted $268 cut occurs, he said.
“We are looking under every rock and hard place for what we can cut,” Cipriano said.
Still, the district is not planning to change any educational programs to save money, he said.
Earlier on Monday, about 100 people attended a rally outside Dearborn City Hall to lobby for more school funding. The event was organized by the American Federation of Teachers, which includes the Dearborn Federation of Teachers and the Henry Ford Community College Federation of Teachers.